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“Rhett?” Cole scratched his brow as if trying to make sense of everything. “After all the shit you two went through, he dumped you?”

“Yeah.” My chest hurt just thinking about my ex. “He went back to Michaela, his ex-wife.” I’d been a fool to think we’d survive the distance.

“He what? What did you do?”

Me? My heart constricted. Why did Cole always assume it was my fault? I loved a good time, but I never messed with people’s hearts. Not ever. I wished the men I’d been involved with had felt the same way. I was so done with love.

Cole half-grinned, injecting tease into his tone. “Did you wear him out? Couldn’t he keep up with you?”

“That was never a problem.” I threw Cole a wicked smirk, but reality was quick to return. I stared at my scars. “Rhett was the ringleader half the time.”

We’d been inseparable from the moment we’d met on set. We’d partied hard and played hard. He’d made me forget why I’d left LA. We’d caused a scandal when we’d started dating three years ago. I’d just turned twenty. Rhett had been thirty-seven. He’d left his Bel-Air billionaire wife and kid to be with me. But I was labeled the homewrecker, the slutty skank, the young floozy who had lured him away from the LA elite. He’d pursued me! That truth had never been printed online. The slandering and bullying comments had been impossible to ignore.

“The night before my accident, I’d brought up the idea of moving in together. We’d discussed getting married and having kids within a year or two. He wanted time to think it over. A few days after the accident, when I was in hospital, he called it quits. He said I was too young. He didn’t want more children and he still loved Michaela. Always had.”

“Asshole.”

I couldn’t argue with that. Not anymore.

We’d both been unable to let go of our pasts.

Cole reached over and clutched my hand. “I’m sorry. I never liked the guy so I’m not upset it ended.”

“Didn’t think you would be.” I rolled down my dress pants. Cole had warned me not to date him, but like always, I hadn’t listened. “Rhett will never slow down. He’s a big kid just out to have fun. I’ll never be able to do all the things we loved doing again. There’s no more mountain biking, rafting, or skiing for me. He doesn’t want me anymore because I’m injured.” Nobody would.

Gone were my days of wearing shorts—not that I’d done that very often. From the schoolyard to red-carpet events, I’d been trolled and teased for my solid build and my masculine dress-sense. I liked jeans, suits, and tailored dress pants rather than sparkly dresses and miniskirts. I didn’t need more hurtful gossip and cruel comments about my hideous injuries and scars.

“Tia, I know you.” Cole’s assuring tone never faltered. “A fucked leg won’t keep you down. You’re a wild spirit that can’t be tamed.”

I sank deeper into the sofa. I’d been trying for months to be okay, but I’d failed. “Was.”

“I won’t buy that bullshit for a second.”

Why wasn’t he listening? I wasn’t the same person anymore. My spirit had been severed. The acting and stunt career I loved was over. The job I’d lived for every day had been annihilated. Nothing would ever give me that rush of adrenaline ever again.

Cole came to sit beside me and drew me into a hug. “I’m so sorry you got hurt. I always worried about you. You could’ve told me about the accident. About Rhett. We tell each other everything.” I didn’t miss the hurt in his tone.

But arching an eyebrow, I gave him a cynical sideways glance. He hadn’t told me everything either. I wasn’t the only one with secrets.

“I would’ve been by your side in a heartbeat.” He rubbed my arm. “You didn’t need to go through this alone.”

Yes, I did. I was stubborn, pigheaded and had thought otherwise. “There was nothing you could’ve done. You had your own problems to deal with. Flint wasn’t in a good place. He needed you more than I did. I didn’t want to burden anyone. I was determined not to let my injuries set me back. But they have. No matter how much physical therapy I do, my leg never gets better.”

“When did this happen?”

“Early June.” I picked at the rim of my glass.

“Six months ago?” Shock rattled his voice. “Fuck. So this is why you’ve left the show?”

“Yeah. Production resumed a few weeks after the investigations into the accident had finished. It was found to be a freak incident. I went back to work after three months off, but it wasn’t the same. How could I stay when I couldn’t do the stunt work? They re-wrote my character to accommodate my injury, but everyone just looked at me in pity. I didn’t want to be on set, watching everyone do the things I loved and not being a part of the action. It was too soul-crushing. So I talked to the studio, took the insurance payout, and made the decision to leave.”

“But you’ve landed a new role.” Cole’s voice jumped up a notch. “That’s good, right?”

Was it? Doubts fired in my head like rounds from a machine gun. The blaze in my heart was for stunt work, not acting. Playing an unlucky-in-love lawyer was so far removed from anything I’d ever wanted to do. I wasn’t sure it was me. “I took the first role that came my way. I was afraid no one would employ me if they knew I was injured, so I lied. If they find out that my injury is more than a limp, I could lose the part. I’m a liability. An insurance risk.”

“Nah.” Cole swatted the air with his hand. “They’re lucky to have you. You’re freaking Tia Tanner. An A-list TV star. You’re an asset to any show.”

If I could just get excited about my new role, everything would be fine. “Here’s hoping.”